Giving

Sep 18, 2025

A Creative Compass: How Ben Marsigli Brings Collegiate Spirit into the Apparel Market

Ben Marsigli, creative director at Rhoback, shares how his time as a design studies major prepared him to create apparel for the brand, including an NC State collection.

Students visited Espacio Escultórico, which means "sculptural space," a UNESCO World Heritage site made from volcanic rock at UNAM.

Jun 10, 2025

Global Perspectives in Design: How NC State’s Duda Program Shapes Design Students

Partnering with renowned Mexican architect Gabriela Carrillo, architecture and landscape architecture students explored the urban and environmental complexities of a metropolis rich in Indigenous history and modern challenges as part of this year’s Duda Visiting Designer Program.

Demarcus Williams with College of Design Brooks Hall sign

Mar 19, 2025

Demarcus Williams ‘03 Creates Scholarship in Kermit Bailey’s Honor

Demarcus Williams [BGD '03] embodies the NC State spirit of think and do – driven, passionate and committed to giving back. His journey from an undergraduate student navigating college life to a successful marketing and communications professional was supported by a host of faculty in the graphic design program, particularly Kermit Bailey. Now, Williams is establishing a scholarship in Bailey's name, hoping to provide the same support he received to future generations of designers.

Jul 30, 2024

A Love of Art and Technology

Roxanne Hicklin graduated with a BA in Fine Arts from Salem College. She spent her summers as a sketch artist at Carowinds, capturing quick likenesses of people on the sidewalk before their attention wandered, along with their feet. Following graduation, she was able to parlay that skill into working at Channel 5 News as a courtroom sketch artist, learning graphic arts and computer animation while there. Her ability to be adaptable and always learning on the job led her from Channel 5 to SAS, and finally landing as a volunteer and philanthropist at NC State, where she’s mentoring and nurturing a new generation of artists.

Oct 3, 2023

First Speaker Named for Architecture Endowed Lecture Series

Carol Wilson, a two-time NC State alumna, has been announced as the first speaker for a new architecture lecture series endowed in honor of Roger Clark. Wilson is an architect based in Maine. She owns a small firm that primarily focuses on residential work, and her creativity can be seen in buildings as far as New York and Soho.

Susan Toplikar with her husband, Mike Cindric in 1996. Photo courtesy Design Dimension.

Jun 30, 2023

A Continuing Legacy: Susan Toplikar Fund Connects Students to Professionals

Through a fund named after one of the College of Design's most missed instructors, students are gaining the opportunity to build new meaningful relationships with professionals across the Triangle.

Two students explore Eastman prototyping as part of the industrial design studio

May 23, 2023

Celebrating A Decade of Collaboration with Eastman

Compostable takeout containers. Cosmetics packaging. Ready to assemble furniture. These are just a few of the sponsored studio projects the NC State College of Design has conceptualized for real-world applications with industry partner Eastman. They have maintained an active partnership with the College of Design over the past ten years, resulting in nine invention disclosures, five applications and one patent.

Apr 26, 2023

Celebrating Alumni + Friends Weekend and the Designlife Gala

The College of Design celebrated Alumni + Friends Weekend and the Designlife Gala on April 21-22, 2023. The college was delighted to see so many friendly faces back on campus, touring our studios, and connecting with former classmates and colleagues at the reunions by the decade. The weekend's events culminated with the Designlife Gala at the JC Raulston Arboretum on Saturday night.

Mar 27, 2023

Envisioning a Better World with Design

John and Tracy Martin believe that higher education is the greatest path to equity in our society, and they wanted to create a scholarship that reflected that. John vowed that he would one day give back to the institution that had given him so much.

Mar 6, 2023

2023 Winners of the Designlife Award

To celebrate the college’s 75th anniversary, Dean Hoversten chose to award two significant Designlife awards – one to signify a lifetime of achievement, and one to honor a new and emerging professional. Both awardees are alumni of the college, which had a formative impact on their career trajectories. Two individuals will be recognized for their unique contributions to the profession. Edwin F. “Abie” Harris [B.Arch. ‘57], artist and former university architect for NC State, and J. Stacy Utley [BEDA ‘01, B.Arch. ‘06], public artist and educator, embody significant contributions to the College of Design, their respective professions, and the design profession.

Design students in Buckminster Fuller's class design a geodesic cotton mill or textile mill

Jan 18, 2023

75 Years of Leading by Design: College of Design Celebrates a Momentous Milestone

The College of Design celebrates its 75th anniversary throughout 2023 with a series of lectures, events, alumni weekends, and more.

Jasmeen Kaur's redesign of the NC State Graduate School + Poole College of Management Building proposes improving accessibility beyond code compliance.

Aug 17, 2022

Accessible Design Takes Spotlight in Competition

Fourteen students were tasked with designing a new building that focuses on accessibility and universal design on NC State Centennial Campus that would serve the Poole College of Management and the Graduate School.

3D-printed ceramic items sit on a shelf in Shawn Protz's ceramics lab

Jun 27, 2022

2022 Designlife Magazine

Read about the people and activities featured in the 2022 issue of Designlife Magazine.

Professor Derek Ham demonstrates how augmented reality can highlight the history of Negro League Baseball and the impact of players like Buck Leonard.

Jun 20, 2022

History and Augmented Reality Meet to Uplift a Black Icon from North Carolina

Students and faculty are bringing new life and awareness to icons like Negro League Baseball player Buck Leonard, using AR to enhance typical displays into interactive, mini-museums. Working with a grant from the NC State Foundation focused on “Mixed Reality for Social Impact,” Derek Ham, department head of Art + Design at NC State’s College of Design, is helping to tell the stories of underrepresented communities in the medium he knows best – Augmented Reality (AR).

Jun 2, 2022

Jennifer Peavey Plans to Back the Pack Forever

Through a special legacy gift, this NC State alumna hopes to provide professors in the College of Design with the resources to think and do ad infinitum.

May 31, 2022

It All Adds Up: Alumnus Doug Bennett Reflects on a Lifetime of Giving

Doug Bennett attended the College of Design during an “explosive period” in our nation’s history, starting in 1965 and graduating with a Bachelor of Architecture in 1970. Throughout his time in the school, he was able to serve as the business manager on the Student Publication, and that was his first foray into philanthropy. After graduating, he served in the U.S. Navy, and started a lifetime of giving. Bennett likened his continuous giving to a habit. He started giving, initially, modest donations to the College of Design and kept up with annual donations ever since.

May 31, 2022

Honoring Faculty: Pat Rand Initiates Roger Clark Architecture Speaker Support Endowment

In honor of the outstanding and enduring teaching of Roger Clark, Distinguished Professor Emeritus in Architecture Pat Rand has created the Roger Clark Architecture Speaker Support Endowment. This annual lecture will allow the School of Architecture to bring leading professionals and architectural educators to campus to present architectural topics relevant to students’ future careers.

May 18, 2022

Celebrating Another Successful Day of Giving

The College of Design celebrated another successful Day of Giving on March 23, 2022 thanks to the generous gifts of donors, alumni, faculty, staff, students and friends, all of whom believe in the importance of design education. Thanks to your support, the college was able to raise $474,885 from 373 gifts, exceeding last year’s 309 gifts by 21%.

Stats from the Designlife magazine. $23,173,190 dollars raised between 2017-2021. $7.4 million in planned gifts during the campaign. 160% increase in endowment, growing to $15.2 million. 65% of the design endowment goes to student support. 90% increase in scholarships awarded since 2016-2017. 89% of campaign gifts were less than $25,000.

May 10, 2022

Celebrating the Think and Do the Extraordinary Campaign

Thanks to the generous support of our donors who contributed to the Think and Do the Extraordinary Campaign, we have been able to make tremendous strides in the last five years. Because of you, we can look ahead to our future. We’re able to consider the next 75 years of design education and shape another seven decades of designers.

May 4, 2022

Designlife Magazine: Drones, Automated Vehicles, 3D Ceramics and More

The spring 2022 issue of Designlife magazine is here! Our feature story celebrates the end of the Think and Do the Extraordinary campaign, and most notably, the many faces that not only made it our most successful campaign to date, but shaped the college and its direction, laying the groundwork for years to come.

Student pointing at laptop in the Duda Visiting Designer Program

Jan 20, 2022

Duda Visiting Designer Program asks students to explore North Carolina’s complex history through the lens of racial justice

Thanks to a generous gift from Linda and Turan Duda [BEDA ‘76], students from the College of Design are participating in an immersive, two-week visiting designer program. Partnering with MASS Design Group, students from Architecture and Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning are grouped into teams of 5-6 students to look at one of three sites in NC.

Nov 29, 2021

Bringing New Voices to the College of Design

The importance of differing perspectives in design was a major consideration for both Rodney and his wife, Juanita Shearer-Swink, when they established their graduate award in 2016. To design effectively for communities, both felt it was important to bring a diverse set of professionals to the table. And that process begins with bringing diverse student perspectives to the College of Design.

Sep 9, 2021

College of Design Secures First Distinguished Professorship with Support from the Goodnights

The College of Design has named Wayne Place as its inaugural Goodnight Distinguished Professor in Architecture. The professorship was made possible by a gift from longtime NC State supporters Dr. Jim and Mrs. Ann Goodnight.

Department Head Tsailu Liu in the Lampe Drive space under renovation

May 4, 2021

Early Champions for the New Design Center at 111 Lampe Drive

As renovations for the Design Center at 111 Lampe Drive continue to progress, students are preparing to utilize the blank spaces for fall 2021. A key aspect of this renovation is creating collaborative studio spaces that can support the numerous studio partnerships. One of those companies, Eastman, pledged a major gift to become the first partner to name a space in the new facility.

May 3, 2021

Diversifying Leadership: College of Design Leaders Council to Begin Recruitment

For members of the College of Design’s Leaders Council, there was no discernible tipping point, but rather a growing awareness that the NC State University board needed to diversify. Now, recruitment is in full effect.

Apr 15, 2021

Day of Giving 2021 Breaks Records for College Fundraising

On March 24, 2021 the College of Design took part in what would become its most successful Day of Giving in the three years of NC State hosting the event.

Mar 24, 2021

Building an Impact: Architecture Alumnus Bolsters Student Travel Opportunities

In conjunction with NC State’s annual Day of Giving, alumnus Greg Cranford is making a $250,000 estate gift to support students studying abroad.

Mar 23, 2021

Students virtually explore Rome through new lecture series

The College of Design recently received a generous donation to fund a new study abroad experience in Rome, Italy for spring 2021. While finalizing the details last year, the COVID-19 pandemic continued to increase in severity, ultimately putting a stop to the in-person experience. But that setback ended up setting up the college for a virtual experience that brought increased accessibility to all.

Mar 10, 2021

Raney Wilson: Why Scholarships Matter

Raney Wilson is a sophomore graphic design student in the College of Design from Saxapahaw, NC and a recipient of the Raleigh Hunter Scholarship in Visual Design. Hear how scholarships have impacted her experience at the college.

Jan 21, 2021

Q&A with Katherine Peele: Why I Give

Katherine currently serves as the president of the College of Design Leaders Council, and is an alumna of the college. She and her husband Rick recently created a scholarship endowment to help design students focus on their studies, rather than their finances.

Nov 10, 2020

Leader, Mentor, Mother: Marva Motley Honored for Commitment to Black Students Via Endowed Scholarship

Countless black students have described Motley as an advocate for them, cheering them on within the college, and helping them navigate any college challenge, whether it was financial aid or help attending a national conference. It was exactly that degree of support that shaped Tim Allen’s College of Design experience and led him to develop a new fund in her honor.

Sep 9, 2020

The Henry W. and Lorene R. Johnston Design + Build Program

While there are other Design + Build programs across the country, there’s one thing that makes the Henry W. and Lorene R. Johnston Design + Build stand alone: each project, from conceptualization to completion, takes place over the span of 11 weeks.

At a scheduled Planting Day in Princeville last spring, NC State students, faculty and alumni came together with the town's residents and elected officials to install plants at Town Hall.

Jun 24, 2020

Teamwork that Addresses Flooding Challenges

Small towns in the United States’ mid-Atlantic Coast region have been ravaged in recent years by hurricanes and flooding, and often have little funding in reserve to address the issues that follow behind these natural disasters. Recognizing a need, two College of Design faculty members at NC State established the Coastal Dynamics Design Lab (CDDL) in 2013. Through the lab, an interdisciplinary research and design team helps communities recover and plan for the future by bringing together architects, landscape architects, graphic designers, engineers, scientists and students to create a holistic approach.

May 20, 2020

Derek Ham Appointed Department Head of Art + Design

Ham has been at the College of Design since June 2015 and was recently promoted from assistant professor.

May 5, 2020

Natural Learning Initiative Takes Education Outdoors with WolfWare Outreach

April 29, 2020 | Lily Fandel The Natural Learning Initiative (NLI) is reinventing what it means to play outside. Today’s children grow up with a number of obstacles to outdoor play, from overly structured lifestyles to state-mandated curricula that neglect the outdoors. Additionally, many outdoor play spaces overlook nature — a powerful agent in children’s healthy development. NLI, a…

Apr 20, 2020

Peter Batchelor, Professor Emeritus, Dies at 85

The College of Design is saddened to learn of the death of Professor Emeritus Peter Batchelor, who passed away on April 15, 2020. Born in London, England, on May 22, 1934, Batchelor earned a Bachelor of Architecture (honors) from the University of British Columbia in 1960, Masters of Architecture and City Planning from the University…

Apr 1, 2020

Jill Orr Joins College of Design as Executive Director of Development from Arts NC State

Jill Orr has joined the College of Design as executive director of development. “I am delighted to join the College of Design” said Orr. “This college has an exceptional reputation and exciting, multidisciplinary programs that have far-reaching effects on the world we live in.” Orr is leaving Arts NC State, where she served as the…

Mar 23, 2020

Alex Buck: The Freedom to Play

Alex Buck, a graduate student in architecture at the College of Design and president of NC State’s Freedom by Design (FBD), knows that a playground can have a huge impact on childhood development – especially for children with unique needs. Freedom by Design, the community service branch of the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS), uses the talents of architecture students to radically impact the lives of people in their community through design and construction solutions.

Entrance and Basic Needs Hub at Oberlin Road site, as designed by Daniel Garrett.

Jan 14, 2020

Exploring Solutions, By Design

Barrie’s studio class, Affordable and Supportive Housing for NC State, explored possible solutions to student housing insecurity. The concept connected with the results of a 2017 research study by the NC State Food and Housing Security Initiative, co-chaired by psychology professor Mary Haskett and Sarah Wright, TRIO academic coach at the university, which found that almost 10 percent of NC State students had experienced homelessness within a 30-day period.

Jan 13, 2020

Design Camp Reflections: Skyler Bolyard

Design Camp Reflections: Skyler Bolyard Before taking off for Prague, Skyler took a moment to reflect on her time working with the Design Lab this past year. The following is a blog post she wrote about her experience. Many thanks to Skyler, and all the best wishes for a great time in the Czech Republic!…

Dec 6, 2019

Creating a Lasting Legacy to the College of Design

As Bill Dove shares stories about his 86 years of life, some of the names and dates are admittedly a little blurred. The reason has little to do with age.

Sep 4, 2019

Preserving History Through Design + Build

In the summer of 2019, the College of Design's architecture Design + Build studio brought to life a unique way to preserve the history of Princeville, NC.

Apr 12, 2019

The Value of a Design Education

Bill O’Brien [’62 B.Arch] shares his design journey, found memories of the College, his architecture legacy, and the value of a design education.

Chancellors Study Abroad Scholarship winners 2018-19

Apr 11, 2019

A Study Abroad Experience

Jecori Owens-Shuler, a senior in industrial design, had the opportunity to spend a semester in Prague, which was enhanced by the Chancellor’s Study Abroad Scholarship.

Will Reuther with baby monitoring protype

Apr 10, 2019

Reaching for his Dreams

A passion for medical devices has led Will Reuther [MID '19] to a promising journey including collaborating with researchers to design and develop a cutting-edge baby monitoring system and heading to medical school to become a doctor.

Kimberly Wicker, alumna from NC State College of Design

Apr 9, 2019

You Get Back What You Give

Kimberly Wicker received her MLA from NC State College of Design and has since remained loyal in giving of her time, talent, and passion for all things Raleigh NC and beyond. Owner of Coaly Design, Wicker understands the importance of designing for the future.

Mar 25, 2019

Designing for Activism and Advocacy

Art + Design graduate student Saige Martin is exploring design activism and advocacy to challenge people's perceptions and to push beyond their comfort zones.

Feb 19, 2019

Symposium Celebrates Eduardo Catalano and the College of Design

NC State Design Symposium celebrates 100 years of Eduardo Catalano and his influence on modern architecture in North Carolina and beyond.

Jan 30, 2019

Micro Houses Have Macro Impact

Micro houses have the potential to alleviate veteran homelessness in North Carolina. And an advanced architecture studio partnered with deserving organizations to help lead the way.

Dec 18, 2018

Philanthropic Professor Supports the College

Professor of Architecture Tom Barrie has a passion for making a difference for his students and to support causes that matter. Barrie and his wife, Lisa, are philanthropic and generous in their support of NC State Design.